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Experiences and cases
In recent years, KEMA has been involved in many catalysis projects. A number of examples are given below.
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HCN/COS hydrolysis in IGCC
In the high-pressure flow system, KEMA has investigated the catalytic HCN, COS conversion activity of several existing commercial catalysts from Axens (formerly Procatalyse) under conditions representative of fuel gas produced in Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plants. Supported by results from a market survey, testing conditions were scaled directly from operational IGCC plants. In the testing matrix used, important parameters such as HCN and COS concentration, temperature, space velocity, pressure and H2O concentration were investigated. Additionally, the effect on the catalytic activity of different gas phase contaminants such as HCl and NH3 was investigated.
The results proved to be highly satisfactory and are used by Axens for marketing in the IGCC sector. HCN and COS conversion rates over Axens catalyst as measured by KEMA were compared with the overall rates for catalysts currently used in IGCC applications.
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Kinetics of AlCl3 generation
KEMA has investigated the kinetics of the reaction of Al + Cl2 to produce AlCl3 by means of thermogravimetric (TGA) measurements. Temperature, Cl2-concentration and the composition of the make-up gas were varied.
The objective of this project - to obtain kinetic data for the design specifications and operating conditions for an industrial-scale fluidized-bed reactor – was fully realized.
The results provided good insight into the kinetics of AlCl3 generation but also provided new lines of approach for the start-up and operating procedures of an industrial-scale plant.
Weight change and temperature as a function of time during Cl2 exposure of an Al-sphere.
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Chemical Looping Combustion System
KEMA has investigated the technical and economic feasibility of a new combustion process with zero CO2 emission for application in the Netherlands. The main characteristic of this combustion process is that there is no contact between the fuel (natural gas) and the combustion air. The oxygen is transferred from the air to the fuel by means of a reduction/oxidation mechanism with a solid intermediate. The main feature of the process is that a flue gas is produced consisting of only CO2 and H2O, which after condensing is mainly CO2, which can be easily be separated without an energy penalty.
Earlier studies have shown that this novel combustion process has the following advantages: - process can be operated at gas inlet temperature
- process can be designed as a high-efficiency gas turbine cycle leading to high thermal efficiency
- very low (single-digit) NOx emission
- CO2 separation without an extra energy penalty.
In order to gain insight into the technical and economic feasibility of this process, KEMA has investigated solid materials possibly suited for this process by performing cyclic reduction-oxidation cycles under varying conditions in both a high-pressure thermobalance and a fluidized-bed setup. Kinetic data on the oxidation and reduction process, together with attrition data were obtained from these experiments. With these data, a process design has been made for commercial large-scale electricity production with this novel combustion process.
For more information, please contact us.
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[download] Paper Chemical Looping Combustion System Meijer 2003 (.pdf 312 kb)
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